Secret Kisses Under The Mistletoe
by embrace-the-deception
Summary: When Nick finds out that Jeff has never celebrated Christmas, he decides to create a Christmas of their own. Fluffy Niff. ONESHOT


**The obligatory Christmas fic. I was going to do a Klaine one, and then I figured I'd much rather write some more Niff if I could ;P And this is basically right out of my life - I've never really celebrated Christmas. It was never something important to me. And I never believed in Santa either. But this is the first year I'm celebrating it now that my father's left and it's something special. So have some fluffy Niff to make you smile :)**

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><p>"Sooooo," Nick drawled, rolling onto his back and letting his head hang over the end, watching his friend on the other side of the room from an upside down point of view that would have been cool if it didn't make his head spin. Jeff rolled his eyes and looked up from the book he was reading – or attempting to. It didn't help that Nick was on the other side of their dorm being annoying and interrupting him every few minutes.<p>

"What?"

"What are you doing for Christmas?"

Jeff paused and contemplated his friend for a moment. He wondered how the other would react when he told him how he was planning to spend his Christmas. He'd gotten used to the surprise and confusion after the first few times of telling people, but Nick was different. Nick was his best friend – he'd never had one of those before – and he felt awkward telling him that he didn't celebrate the holiday at all.

"Nothing."

Nick tilted his head, still upside down, and frowned curiously. "What do you mean, nothing?"

"You know what nothing means." Jeff dropped his eyes back to his book but continued to listen as Nick kept talking.

"Yeah, but you can't do _nothing _at Christmas."

"Yes, I can."

"No-"

Exasperated, Jeff looked up again and said, "Look, I don't celebrate Christmas, okay?"

Nick twisted onto his stomach and stared, dark hair falling haphazardly over his eyes and obscuring half his face. He brushed it away, the incredulous look still there and even more apparent now. Jeff sighed and tried to go back to concentrating on his book, but Nick wasn't going to leave this alone.

"You don't celebrate Christmas? Why not?"

"Because I don't. I never have. It's just something my family does," Jeff mumbled, feeling self-conscious. Was Christmas really such a big deal? It was just one day in a whole year, and it wasn't as if either of them were religious, so what did it matter? Nick seemed to think it was hugely important.

"Oh my God, you must have had a sad and awful childhood!" Nick exclaimed "Did you ever even believe in Santa?"

"Nope."

Nick sat up and stared at Jeff in absolute shock. The blonde rolled his eyes and glanced back up from his book, abandoning all hopes of ever getting through it now. He didn't really understand why it was so surprising that he didn't celebrate Christmas. He'd get presents from his grandparents on occasion when they remembered that yes, this side of the family did actually exist, but that was it. It had never meant anything to him. But apparently it meant a lot to Nick and Jeff braced himself for some rant about how amazing Christmas was and how weird it was that he didn't celebrate it. He'd gotten it before. But he was surprised himself when Nick just nodded once and said definitively, "You have to come to my place for Christmas then."

"Can't. I promised my parents I'd stay with them," Jeff shrugged "Besides, it's your Christmas with your family."

"Trust me, they wouldn't care," Nick grinned "But if you can't come, then we'll have to do something else."

Jeff groaned, "Am I going to regret this?"

"I most certainly hope not, my friend."

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><p>It was lucky that Dalton was such a large school. If it weren't, someone might have walked past the empty study hall where Jeff was hiding himself away, and they might have heard what he had to say to the blank walls and ceiling.<p>

"I just don't get it," he sighed, lying on his back on one of the tables and staring up at the high ceiling above him "I mean, we're friends and all, and I think he's cool, but… I just get this weird feeling when I'm around him sometimes. And when I say sometimes, I mean most, if not all of the time."

He was quiet for a moment. If anyone caught him it would be incredibly embarrassing. Not only was he talking to an empty room (or himself, whichever way you wanted to look at it), but he was confessing his feelings. To an empty room. To himself. It was strange, but talking out loud helped him get his thoughts in order, especially when everything was so chaotic and confusing. It relaxed him, made him feel like he knew what he was doing again. And so he'd had to find someplace where he could talk without anyone overhearing. The study hall on the far side of the school usually worked well. Not many people used it when there were closer ones and the school was thinking about converting it into a classroom. But for the moment it was Jeff's secret spot, where he could talk and talk and no one would ever know.

"It's weird. I've only known him for a little while, but he's just… I don't know. I think he's awesome. Amazing. And dare I say it, maybe even kind of cute. But that would mean I have a crush on my roommate and the only best friend I've ever had, which would be awkward, not to mention potentially friendship-ruining if he ever found out."

He and Nick had met at the beginning of the year when they'd been assigned the same dorm. Just freshmen, nervous and new, they'd quickly bonded and become friends. It was Blaine, the formerly skittish and jumpy sophomore down the hall, who'd been brave enough to come out that had given Jeff the courage to do so also. Now he wasn't afraid of who he was – he was bisexual and damn proud of it. And just a few weeks ago Nick had quietly admitted to his roommate that he was gay and had known it for years, but wasn't as brave as everyone else and so it still remained their little secret. But Jeff wasn't so sure he could do it anymore. Oh, he could keep the secret – he would protect that with his life if he had to; he would never betray anyone like that and _especially_ not Nick – but he wasn't sure if he could keep his own secret to himself.

Hence, he was telling it to an empty study hall.

"I can't have a crush on him. But… I guess I kind of do. And it's really scary. I mean, I've had crushes before. Who hasn't? But this… it's different. It feels different and I don't know what I should do. I don't want to ruin anything between us, so telling him in out of the question. But I could go on forever about how amazing and cute he is. Like, his hair when he wakes up is _adorable_, and his eyebrows kind of do this weird wiggly thing when he's concentrating, and it's funny. And he plays the guitar, which is freaking awesome, and his eyes are just beautiful, which probably isn't a great word to describe a guy, but they are, it's true. But I can't tell him."

Jeff sat up as he felt his phone vibrate from his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw it was a text from Nick.

_Hey come up 2 the dorm?_

The blonde sighed and texted back quickly, sliding off the table and heading for the door.

_On my way_

"I can't tell him, because it would ruin everything."

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><p>Of all the things he could have expected to see when he walked into the dorm – this was not one of them.<p>

Well, he supposed he probably _should_ have seen this coming. After all, he should have realised that their talk the day before would have sparked something. And when Nick did something, it wasn't half-assed.

That was why their room was covered in tinsel and lights and looked like a Christmas tree had exploded within it.

"What did you _do_?" Jeff laughed as he closed the door behind him. Nick was sat cross-legged on the blonde's bed, a smug grin on his face as he replied, "What does it look like?"

"I don't believe you."

"You said you couldn't come to my Christmas, so we're having one of our own."

Jeff chuckled and sat next to his friend on his bed. "Christmas isn't until next week."

"I know. It has to be early, because we won't _be_here at the right time, will we?" Nick poked his friend and laughed. Jeff joined him, poking back until they were embroiled in a very ticklish poke war that ended with Jeff on his back with Nick over him, tears streaming down his face from laughing so hard and breathlessly begging Nick to stop. The brunette grinned and backed off, letting Jeff sit up and wipe the tears away. Jeff glared with a smirk in the other's direction.

"You're so mean," he whined, grinning as Nick rolled his eyes and replied, "I know. I just set up an entire Christmas for you. I'm horrible."

"Hey, I like it," Jeff said quickly, not wanting Nick to think he was being ungrateful "I really do. Thank you."

Nick smiled. Jeff smiled in return, becoming a grin when he remembered what he had stashed away under his bed for his friend. He reached for it, leaning backwards until his back was curled at a ridiculous angle – according to Nick, who was still shaking his head in surprise when Jeff straightened.

"That is _not _natural."

"I'm just flexible," Jeff shot back, handing Nick the wrapped present "And this is for you."

"Damn right you are," Nick chuckled as he took what he was offered, turning it over his hands carefully before pulling the paper off.

When he saw what it was, he let out an involuntary gasp before he slapped a hand over his mouth. His gaze met Jeff's worried one, eyes full of shock.

"I had it made a little while ago," the blonde said as Nick ran his fingers over the silver photo frame, the twisted, curly writing wrought at the bottom reading _Best Friends_. In the frame was a picture of the two boys, arms around each other's shoulders and grinning at the camera, making peace signs with their hands. Nick was poking his tongue out, Jeff winking.

"Oh my God…"

"Do you like it?" Jeff asked hesitantly. Nick looked up and shook his head. The blonde's heart began to drop before Nick the other laughed.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I like it! I _love _it! Jeff… this is awesome. You got it made?"

Jeff nodded, smiling shyly. Nick put the frame down on the bed and leaned forward, engulfing his friend in a hug. The blonde chuckled and hugged back until Nick let go and sat back, a massive grin on his face.

"I don't know how I could top that."

"Try," Jeff smiled.

Suddenly the brunette looked incredibly nervous and he bit his lip, worrying it between his teeth.

"I really hope I don't mess anything up by doing this," he said, a slight tremble in his voice "But I've wanted to for a while and I don't know how much longer I can keep it to myself."

A pause.

"Look up."

Jeff did as he was told, curious. Above him were strands of lights running across the ceiling, but dangling from one of the cords was something vaguely familiar. He couldn't quite place it though. He twisted his head, not quite sure.

"It's mistletoe."

Jeff blushed a bright red as Nick spoke quietly. He might not celebrate Christmas, but he knew what mistletoe meant. He was almost afraid to look back, somewhat confused about what was going on. Mistletoe meant kissing. But…

He felt a hand on his cheek guiding him to tilt his head back down and he was sure he was blushing harder as he saw Nick _right_in front of him, on his knees, an inch away from him. The brunette gave him a small, sad smile and whispered, "Sorry."

Before Jeff could ask what he meant, Nick leaned forward that inch and kissed him. Jeff had thought he might freeze if Nick ever kissed him, but he didn't – he pressed back, attempting to reciprocate despite the fact he had zero experience. This was his first kiss, and _oh my God, I'm kissing Nick_.

The brunette broke away a moment later, sitting back and crossing his legs under him, staring at his knees awkwardly. Jeff's eyes fluttered open (_when did they close?_) and he stared at his friend, stunned. When he managed to get his voice back after a second, he choked out, "Why did you say sorry?"

Nick glanced up at him with the slightest trace of curiosity in his eyes. "Because I shouldn't have done that, and I didn't want to ruin the friendship we have. Had. I know it means a lot to you – and it means a lot to me – which is why I didn't want to say or do anythi – why are you staring at me like that?"

"Because I'm kind of hoping you'll shut up and kiss me again."

Now it was Nick's turn to stare, a small smile appearing. "R-Really?"

"Nick, I've wanted to do that, or you to do that, for so long it's not even _funny_," Jeff said quietly "And I really like you. A lot. I'm assuming you do too…"

"Of course I do," Nick smiled "If I'd known you liked me back, I would have kissed you sooner."

"Then kiss me."

Nick obliged, both boys leaning forward to let their lips meet. It was short, soft and chaste. There was plenty of time for hot and heavy making out later. Now it was just time for making sure that this was all real. Jeff smiled when they pulled back, Nick chuckling nervously and rubbing the back of his neck.

"I think I might have to start celebrating Christmas now."

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed, and merry Christmas!<strong>


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